‘Zara Hatke Zara Bachke’ inches close to $5 million

The latest Hindi release – Zara Hatke Zara Bachke – has sprung a surprise at the Indian ticket windows and scored well over the first weekend. After making an opening of $750,000, the film’s collections saw a steep rise over the weekend. Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan play lead roles in the film.

Directed by Laxman Utekar (of Mimi fame), the film scored $910,000 on Saturday and the Sunday collections further rose to $1.2 million. Zara Hatke Zara Bachke scored a little short of $3 million in its first weekend in India. On the first Monday, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke scored a decent $600,000. The film crossed $4 million in India by Tuesday end. It crossed the $4 million-mark and scored $4.5 million wordlwide on Monday itself. Made on an estimated budget of $6.5 million, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke is running on over 2000 screens in India and and nearly 2500 screens worldwide.

The film is set in a small Indian town and traces a young couple striving for privacy and space in a middle-class house. Kapil (Kaushal) and Saumya (Khan) dupe the system and their own families for the sake of a separate home. However, an ugly turn of the situations leaves them helpless and dejected. The film aims to highlight the importance of family, especially the joint family set up typical to the Indian society.

The story relies heavily on the typical Indian middle-class milleu – high on morals and low on resources. The central family consists of Kapil and Saumya, his parents and uncle-aunt and their son. The three couples, and a child, share a house that barely has space for four people. The financial strains and tussle between modern aspirations and traditional moral values provide for a fun-filled setup and the film manages to offer several moments of laughter.

Saumya’s character has been cautiously crafted to ensure it does not clash with any modern values – she is a financialy independant woman who does not shy away from expressing and demanding anything that may fulfil her desires and wishes. She does not hesitate in helping others, and she also does not prioritise every one else above herself. A young woman with an office job who swiftly takes care of an entire family of six grown-ups and one child, Saumya is the perfect balance that the current society eyes in a woman.

Kapil’s character also remains true to the arc and not many variations deviate from his “type” or the narrative. He is the typical middle-class man who loves his family, and does not wish to upset her wife for their sake either.

Meanwhile, the recent box office hit in India – The Kerala Story – started its decline at the ticket windows, more than a month after it first released in theatres. Directed by Sudipto Sen, the film is produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and features Adah Sharma in a lead role.